The Hagoromo Clan
by Darkshadowheart18
Summary: This is the story of Sumiko Hagoromo, a young kunoichi, from the Hagoromo clan, a clan known to have close ties with the Uchiha clan.
1. OC Profile: Sumiko Hagoromo

_Name:_ Sumiko Hagoromo

 _Age:_ 12-13, 15-17

 _Gender:_ Female

 _Nicknames:_ Sumi

 _D.O.B:_ 4th January

 _Occupation:_ Ninja

 _Rank:_ Genin, Chunin

 _Team:_ Team Aoba (Team 16)

-Hisato Shimura,

-Sozen Inuzuka,

-Tamae Yamanaka

 **Appearance:**

Sumiko is a small girl, with light lilac blue hair, and dark chocolate brown eyes. Her hair is short, and just passes her shoulders by a few inches.

 _Height:_ 4'8" , 5'1"

 _Jewellery/accessories:_ Wears her headband around her waist. Wears a wooden pendant, which has the Konoha sigil scratched on it, with the Uchiha sigil on the back, around her neck.

 **About:**

 _Personality:_ Sumiko is a quiet girl, who mainly keeps to herself. She has a few good friends, and will talk to anyone if need be. She is mostly confident, though not cocky, and so she doesn't speak to many people, unless necessary. She is respectful to those who are more powerful than her, though she can be disrespectful to some, like a Senju.

 _Hobbies/interests:_ Reading,

 _Habits:_ Messing with her pendant, when in thought.

 _Skills/talents:_ Taijutsu, Ninjutsu

 _Best qualities:_ …

 _Worst qualities:_ Her hate towards the Senju's, fangirls

 _Goals/motivations/dreams:_ Destroy all Senju's.

 **Relationships with others:**

 _Reputation:_ Has a mixture of people who do and don't like her. Some girls are jealous of her friendship with Sasuke, while some just don't take notice of her.

 _Love Interest:_ None at the moment.

 _Friends:_ Sasuke, Itachi(former),

 _Enemies:_ Senju's,

 **Abilities:**

 _Powers:_

-Water Clone Jutsu,

-Water Release: Water Trick,

-Air Lightning Bullet,,,

-Leaf Hurricane,

-Water Style: Flowing Whip

 _Chakra nature:_ Water

 _Weapons:_ Shuriken, Kunai,

 _Fighting Style:_ Taijutsu, Ninjutsu

 _Preferred Weapons:_ …

 _Preferred jutsu:_ Water Style: Flowing Whip ,

 _Stats:_

-Knowledge: 7/10

-Motivation: 6/10

-Will to Act: 6/10

-Agility: 7/10

-Chakra Control: 6/10

-Swordsmanship: 1/10

-Hand-to-hand combat: 8/10

-Long range accuracy: 6/10

-Offense: 7/10

-Defense: 4/10

-Social Skills: 5/10

 **Biographical Info:**

 _Birthplace:_ Konoha

 _Family:_

-Hidemichi Hagoromo (father) Dark blue/black short hair. Grey eyes.

-Toshiko Hagoromo (mother) Light lilac hair, waist length. Bright blue eyes.

 _Family background:_ The Hagoromo clan are known for their ties to the Uchiha clan. They have always backed up the Uchiha clan, and have always been watched since their ancestors attacked the Senju's. The Hagoromo clan shares the Uchiha compound, until the day of the massacre, where the remaining members moved to a different part of the village. Only a few nins from the clan were killed that day, leaving many Hagoromo's alive. The clan also was apart of the Police force, to help the Uchiha.

 _Character background:_ Sumiko grew up with many Uchiha children, and came to think of them as brothers and sisters. She would train with her father and mother, and would sometime also train with Sasuke and Itachi, when she grew a little older. When Itachi killed his clan, Sumiko was quite scared, but relieved that Sasuke was alive. Her clan allowed Sasuke to live with them, so he wouldn't be by himself. Sumiko looks to Sasuke as a brother.


	2. OC Profile: Hisato Shimura

_Name:_ Hisato Shimura

 _Age:_ 13-14, 16-18

 _Gender:_ Male

 _Nicknames:_ None

 _D.O.B:_ 17th July

 _Occupation:_ Ninja, Root member

 _Rank:_ Genin, Chunin (actually ANBU rank-Root member)

 _Team:_ Team Aoba (Team 16)

-Sumiko Hagoromo,

-Sozen Inuzuka,

-Tamae Yamanaka

 **Appearance:**

Hisato is a tall boy for his age. He has white/grey hair, which is spiky and dark green eyes.

 _Height:_ 5'0" , 5'4"

 _Jewellery/accessories:_ Wears headband around arm. Has the ANBU Root tattoo on tongue.

 **About:**

 _Personality:_ Hisato can come across as rude, and anti-social. This however is due to him being apart of the ANBU Root, making him lack the correct emotions.

 _Hobbies/interests:_ None.

 _Habits:_ Often reads people through how a book says too,

 _Skills/talents: _ Use of sword (kenjutsu),

 _Best qualities:_ …

 _Worst qualities:_ Lack of emotions

 _Goals/motivations/dreams:_ …

 **Relationships with others:**

Reputation: People mainly stay away from him, as they believe his rude and not nice.

Love Interest: None

Friends: None.

Enemies: Anyone who opposes Root.

 **Abilities:**

Powers:

-Static Strings Technique,

-Lighting Release: Lighting Tip,

-Lightning Release: Lightning Bolt Technique,

Chakra nature: Lightning

Weapons: Kunai, Shuriken, Katana,

Fighting Style: Kenjutsu,

Preferred Weapons: Katana

Preferred jutsu: Lightning Release: Lightning Tip

Stats:

-Knowledge: 7/10

-Motivation: 7/10

-Will to Act: 7/10

-Agility: 6/10

-Chakra Control: 4/10

-Swordsmanship: 8/10

-Hand-to-hand combat: 3/10

-Long range accuracy: 1/10

-Offense: 6/10

-Defense: 6/10

-Social Skills: 2/10

 **Biographical Info:**

Birthplace: Konoha

Family:

-Kinzo Shimura (father) _dead._ Had short white/grey hair and light green eyes.

-Momoko Shimura (mother) _dead._ Had shoulder length brown hair, and dark green eyes.

-Tai Shimura (older brother) _presumed dead, actually alive._ Has medium length light brown hair, and light green eyes.

Family background: A small clan, with little information known about them.

Character background: Hisato's parents were killed in the Uchiha Massacre. It was made to look like Itachi killed them, but a Root member actually did. Hisato was 7 when it happened, and was taken in by the Root, becoming a member. He was allowed to join the Academy once he killed his brothers, loosing all emotion. He was 12 when he joined.


	3. OC Profile: Sozen Inuzuka

Name: Sozen Inuzuka

Age: 12-13, 15-17

Gender: Male

Nicknames: ...

D.O.B:/em/span 7th August

Occupation: Ninja, Tracker/Sensor

Rank: Genin, Chunin

Team: Team Aoba (Team 16)

-Hisato Shimura,

-Sumiko Hagoromo,

-Tamae Yamanaka

Ninja dog: Nanumaru, a dark brown dog, black highlights.

Appearance:

Sozen is a boy of average height for his age, with Red markings on his cheeks, like many Inuzuka's do. He has neck length dark brown hair, and blue-grey eyes

Height: 4'9" , 5'1"

Jewellery/accessories: Wears headband on forehead.

About:

Personality: Comes across as cocky at times, and has a serious dislike towards Sasuke. Is overall caring and fun to be around.

Hobbies/interests: Taking walks with his ninja dog, Nanumaru.

Habits: ...

Skills/talents: Tracking,

Best qualities: …

Worst qualities: Cockiness

Goals/motivations/dreams: Destroy 'someone'

Relationships with others:

Reputation: ...

Love Interest: ...

Friends: ...

Enemies: Sasuke,

Abilities:

Powers:

-Man Beast Clone,

-Man Beast Taijutsu: Fang Over Fang,

-Wolf Fang Over Fang,

Chakra nature: Earth

Weapons: Kunai, Shurikan

Fighting Style: Partnered with ninja dog,

Preferred Weapons: None

Preferred jutsu: Man Beast Taijutsu: Fang Over Fang

Stats:

-Knowledge: 7/10

-Motivation: 6/10

-Will to Act: 6/10

-Agility: 8/10

-Chakra Control: 6/10

-Swordsmanship: 1/10

-Hand-to-hand combat: 5/10

-Long range accuracy: 4/10

-Offense: 7/10

-Defense: 7/10

-Social Skills: 8/10

Biographical Info:

Birthplace: Konoha

Family: Inuzuka clan

Family background: The Inuzuka clan are known for their good senses and dog partners. Each member has a ninja dog partner.

Character background: Sozen is a cocky Inuzuka, who has a dislike to Sasuke. This makes Sasuke's fangirls dislike him, to a degree.


	4. OC Profile: Tamae Yamanaka

_Name:_ Tamae Yamanaka

 _Age:_ 11-12, 14-16

 _Gender:_ Female

 _Nicknames:_ Mae

 _D.O.B:_ 3rd June

 _Occupation:_ Ninja

 _Rank:_ Genin, Chunin

 _Team:_ Team Aoba (Team 16)

-Hisato Shimura,

-Sozen Inuzuka,

-Sumiko Hagoromo

 **Appearance:**

Tamae is a short, and small girl, who can be pretty loud and obnoxious at times. She has long, mid-back length blonde hair, which she normally has up in a side ponytail. She also has light mint blue green eyes.

 _Height:_ 4'7", 5'0"

 _Jewellery/accessories:_ Wears her headband around her forehead, later on her head.

 **About:**

 _Personality:_ Tamae is a loud, and sometimes obnoxious girl, who is deemed as annoying at times. This is due to her wanting to be well known in her clan, especially after she isn't placed in a Ino-Shika-Cho team.

 _Hobbies/interests:_ …

 _Habits:_ Playing up to be noticed,

 _Skills/talents:_ Genjutsu,

 _Best qualities:_ …

 _Worst qualities:_ Her obnoxiousness,

 _Goals/motivations/dreams:_ Marry Sasuke

 **Relationships with others:**

 _Reputation:_ Most find her annoying

 _Love Interest:_ Crush on Sasuke

 _Friends:_ ...

 _Enemies:_ Sakura, Ino, Sumi

 **Abilities:**

 _Powers:_

-Ninja Art: Mind Transfer Jutsu,

-Illusion Technique: Flower Hill,

-Cat Genjutsu,,,

-Mind Transmission Jutsu,

-Wind Style: Sandstorm Hurricane

 _Chakra nature:_ Wind, Yin

 _Weapons:_ Kunai, Shuriken.

 _Fighting Style:_ Genjutsu,

 _Preferred jutsu:_ Ninja Art: Mind Transfer Jutsu, Mind Transmission Jutsu.

 _Stats:_

-Knowledge: 7/10

-Motivation: 8/10

-Will to Act: 8/10

-Agility: 3/10

-Chakra Control: 5/10

-Swordsmanship: 1/10

-Hand-to-hand combat: 1/10

-Long range accuracy: 4/10

-Offense: 6/10

-Defense: 4/10

-Social Skills: 6/10

 **Biographical Info:**

 _Birthplace:_ Konoha

 _Family:_ Yamanaka clan

 _Family background:_ The Yamanaka clan have lived in Konoha for quite some time, and have good relations with both the Nara and Akimichi clan.

 _Character background:_ Tamae has always tried to get the attention of her family, but has always been ignored, mainly due to not being able to perform the Yamanaka clan techniques. This is why she plays up at times.


	5. Chapter One: Now a Genin!

**Chapter One:**

Sumiko Hagoromo sat staring out the window of Konoha's Ninja Academy. Beside her was her friend, Sasuke Uchiha, who seemed to be deep in thought. The two were both ignoring Iruka-sensei, who had gotten into another argument with Naruto Uzumaki. The boy was disliked by many, due to being the Nine Tails Jinchuriki. Sumi, however, didn't hate him and instead sat on a neutral bench when it came to the Uzumaki.

Sumi snapped back into listening when she heard Iruka-sensei ask them to all line up and perform a simple Shadow Clone jutsu, of either Iruka or the Third. Sumi stood behind Sasuke, with Naruto behind her. Sumi zoned out again, until she heard Sasuke be called up. He did a perfect clone of the Third, causing his fangirls to begin muttering about how 'great' he was. Sumi rolled her eyes at this. She had a dislike to fangirls, especially Sasuke's. They hated her for how close the two were. Sasuke sent her a small smirk before Iruka called her up.

"All right, Sumiko, perform one clone." Sumi nodded and did the needed handsigns, before creating a perfect clone of the Third. Iruka congratulated her on the achievement, while Sumi just nodded, a small smile of her lips, as she headed over to Sasuke.

"That was too easy."

"Agreed."

The two stood in comfortable silence, Sasuke glaring at his fangirls and Sumi watching the other students. Her eyes widened as Naruto performed his 'Sexy Jutsu', which freaked Iruka and a few others out. Sumi had to bite back a smile and a laugh. She was actually impressed. Naruto may not be able to perform a single Shadow Clone, but her could perform his 'Sexy Jutsu' with ease. After Iruka scolded Naruto, Naruto ran off, causing Iruka to follow.

Everyone began to leave the classroom, heading back to their homes together. Sumi walked beside Sasuke, the two in silence once again.

* * *

The next day, Sumi sat with Sasuke once again, as Iruka called people in to do the test to become a Genin. Sasuke got called in soon after and came back with a smirk on his lips, as he tied the headband around his head. Sumi gave him a smile, and he nodded back.

"Congrats!" She whispered to him, before she began to head off, as it was her turn next.

Before she left the table, she heard Sasuke mutter,

"Don't fail. I don't want to be stuck with one of these idiots." Sumi chuckled and nodded, before following Iruka.

As she arrived in the room, she noticed Mizuki-sensei was already there. He sent her a smile, which caused her to give a small one back. She had always had a small crush on her Mizuki-sensei. She knew it was wrong, but couldn't help it. Shaking the thoughts away, she turned to Iruka, who began to speak.

"Just perform a shadow clone for us Sumiko." The light haired girl nodded and did the needed signs, allowing a simple shadow clone to appear. The two nodded and clapped, giving her a 'well done', before telling her she had passed.

"Take a headband, Sumiko." She nodded and took a basic blue one, before thanking her sensei's and leaving, tying the headband around her forehead, her cheeks a light pink.

By the time she re-entered the classroom, her cheeks had gone back to their normal pale colour.

Sasuke sent her a smirk, to which she smiled to. Naruto came running past her, causing Sumi to glance at the male before heading over to Sasuke.

"Let's go." Sumi rolled her eyes but followed the raven haired Uchiha closely, ignoring the glares from Sasuke's fangirls, especially from Sakura and Ino, who were sending her daggers.

As the two were walking around the village, Sumi caught sight of Naruto running into the forest with a large scroll. She thought nothing of it, until she saw Mizuki-sensei after him, with Iruka-sensei close by. Sumi wanted to go check on the Uzumaki, but decided it wasn't any of her business, and spent the next few hours training with Sasuke.

* * *

Sumi sat in her schools classroom, trying listening to Iruka give the names of who was to be in each team. She was next to Sasuke, who was glaring at everyone who breathed, yet again.

"Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno," A 'yes' was heard from Naruto, as he jumped up, while Sakura slumped in her seat. "And Sasuke Uchiha." Sakura cheered this time, while Naruto grumbled. Sasuke scowled at the thought of being with those two idiots. Sumi sent him a small smile, before stiffening when Naruto began to speak. _'Don't.'_

"Hey, Iruka-sensei! Why does a great ninja like me, have to be in a team with a loser like Sasuke?"

Iruka sighed in frustration.

"Naruto, you had the worst grades in the whole class, whereas Sasuke had the best. So, to balance out the teams, naturally we put the worse with the best." The class began to laugh, while Naruto got upset and ran off, once again. Iruka caught him before he had a chance to fully run off.

"Now, with that done, Team 16 will be: Sozen Inuzuka, Sumiko Hagoromo, Tamae Yamanaka, and Hisato Shimura." Sumi frowned as she heard her team. _'Four people?'_

"Now, before one of you ask why there is a team of four, we had an unequal amount of students who passed, and so had to make a four squad team. Furthermore, we wanted to make sure all teams were diverse, and equal. Each member of Team 16 has a particular way they fight, which makes the team very good, and quite strong. Possibly the strongest we've seen for years."

Sumi glanced at Sasuke, who seemed to glare at her. This caused her to look away.

"Now, will everyone go and sit with their new team mates. Your sensei's should be here soon." People began to move.

"I'll see you later then, Sasuke-kun." The Uchiha simply 'hn'd', as Sumi walked over to where Sozen sat. Tamae was already there. They were just waiting on Hisato.

"Sumiko. Most call me Sumi." Sozen gave her a grin, his dog Nanumaru giving a small bark.

"Sozen." Sozen had the typical red markings other Inuzuka's had, with brown hair and blue-grey eyes. Tamae was next to introduce herself.

"Tamae." She muttered, glaring at Sumi. Sumi knew her as a fellow Sasuke fangirl. She had long blonde hair, which she always had in a side ponytail and mint green blue eyes, which shone with determination.

Sumi sat next to Sozen, who seemed to be watching her. Tamae was too busy gazing at Sasuke, to notice the figure walk up to next to her.

"Hello. I am Hisato." Sumi looked up at their last team member. She always thought Hisato was weird. He had joined the academy in the last few years, and didn't seem to understand emotions that well. He was, however, impressive with a sword. Sumi envied his katana skills.

Hisato had spiky white/grey hair and deep dark green eyes. Sumi noticed he seemed to be analyzing each of them.

Sumi gave Hisato a small smile. "Sumiko. This is Sozen, and that's Tamae." Sozen gave Hisato a lazy grin, while Tamae jumped.

"When did you get here?!" She screeched, causing both Sumi and Sozen to cringe. Hisato didn't seem affected.

"I apologise if I scared you." Tamae sent him a glare and scoffed.

"Just don't do it again, got it?!" Sumi sighed.

"Well, this is going to be a fun team, huh?" Sumi chuckled and glanced at Sozen, who was grinning, his cheeks tinted with pink.

Sumi looked away and caught eye contact with Sasuke, who was glaring at her team. When their eyes met, his glare softened, and the two shared a small smile, before Sasuke went back to glaring and Sumi looked away.

* * *

Sumi and her team mates had been sitting in the classroom for just over two hours now. Sasuke's team was still there too. Sasuke had headed over to her, sitting next to her, much to Sozen's dislike. The two had been glaring the whole time, even Nanumaru growled at Sasuke.

"Your team doesn't seem that bad."

"Hn. Sakura is annoying and Naruto is useless." Sumi rolled her eyes.

"Well, they're your team mates, nothing you can do. When we're Chunin's and Jonin's maybe we can get missions together?" Sasuke smirked.

"We'll make those ranks with ease. The less time I have to spend with these losers, the better." Sumi just shook her head, a grin on her face. She could sense the glares directed at her and Sasuke.

Sasuke's being from Naruto and Sozen, and hers being from Sakura and Tamae. Hisato just seemed to like watching them.

Hearing footsteps, the group of genins looked up at the male who walked in. He had dark brown hair and sunglasses covering his eyes. He wore his headband at a slight slanted angle. Looking around the room, he seemed to be scanning the room.

"Team 16, Sumiko Hagoromo, Sozen Inuzuka, Hisato Shimura and Tamae Yamanaka. Follow me." Sumi smiled at Sasuke.

"Guess I've gotta go. See you later Sasuke-kun." The Uchiha replied with a 'hn' and laced his fingers together as he stared at the wall. Sumi walked beside Sozen, with Hisato and Tamae behind them.

Following their new sensei, the four genins mainly walked in silence. Sozen made a few comments, but didn't get many replies. As the group stopped, Sumi noticed they were near the training fields.

"Okay, why don't you all introduce yourselves."

"Why don't you introduce yourself first?!" Retorted Tamae. Sumi held a sigh. This wasn't going well.

"Fine. My name is Aoba Yamashiro. I have likes, dislikes, but I don't see why I should tell you those. Dreams for the future? Protect the village. Now you." Aoba-sensei replied, pointing at Tamae. Her cheeks dusted a light pink, before she began.

"My names Tamae Yamanaka. I like flowers, and helping out at the Yamanaka flower store, I don't like people who think they can steal my Sasuke-kun, and my dreams for the future? Marry Sasuke-kun." Tamae went all dreamy when she mentioned Sasuke. Sumi rolled her eyes, and chuckled when she heard Sozen make gagging noises. Aoba-sensei seemed to sweat drop.

"Next." He gestured for Sozen to start.

"Names Sozen Inuzuka, and this here is Nanumaru. I like taking walks with Nanumaru here in the mornings. I dislike a certain someone very much. Plans for the future? Marry and have kids probably, as well as ridding this world of the person I hate." Sumi felt a shiver when Sozen talked. Aoba-sensei nodded and gestured for Hisato to go next.

"Hisato Shimura. I don't really have any likes nor dislikes, and as for plans for the future, I'm not really sure. I apologise for not being able to give much." Hisato gave a small smile. Aoba-sensei nodded and called Sumiko to go.

"My name is Sumiko Hagoromo. I like to read, and spend time with my friends," Tamae glared. "I dislike... well, fangirls, as well as a particular clan. As for my plans for the future, I'd like to kill a certain person, and end their clan." Sumi noticed the wide eyes of both Tamae and Sozen. Even her sensei seemed shocked. Hisato may have been shocked, but his facial features didn't show if he was.

"Well, I want all of you to meet at Training Grounds 4 at nine in the morning. Don't be late. Dismissed." Aoba-sensei disappeared in a poof of smoke.

"Well, I will be going now. Goodbye." Hisato gave a polite smile and left, leaving Tamae, Sozen and Sumi left.

"I'm going too, see you guys tomorrow." Sumi stated, heading off without hearing them reply.


	6. Chapter Two: Team 16

**Chapter Two:**

Sumi awoke early the next day, getting changed into her usual ninja gear, leaving her house. She knew Sasuke had already headed off a couple of hours earlier, to meet his team. The two had talked about their teams, and Sasuke had brought up how his sensei wanted them to get up early tomorrow, now today, and meet at the training grounds, without eating breakfast. Sumi thought it was a perculiar thing for their sensei to say, but shrugged it off as it didn't concern her.

"Well, look who finally arrived." Sumi glanced at Sozen, who gave her a grin.

"We've been waiting here for almost thirty minutes! You could of got us sent back to the academy, for arriving late!" Screeched Tamae. Sumi cringed at the loud sound, and let out a groan of annoyance.

"Sensei isn't here, so shut your screaming. You sound like a child." Sumi retorted, watching how Sozen snickered and Tamae glared at her. _'Seems like all this time around Sasuke's rubbing off on me.'_

"Good morning Sumiko. You look well this morning." Sumi glanced at Hisato, and gave a small smile, before saying 'Good morning' back.

"Any idea when our sensei will get here?"

"No clue. Like Tamae said, we've been here for about half an hour." Sumi nodded and stretched.

"Well, I'm gonna start training." She stated, doing the Tiger hand seal, which created a clone of her. The clone was made of water, and stood in front of her.

She nodded at the clone, and the two began to spar, mainly focusing on Taijutsu.

While Sumi was sparring against her water clone, Aoba arrived.

"How long has she been training against that clone?" Sozen glanced at his sensei before replying.

"Ten minutes." Aoba nodded, and called Sumi to pause her sparring match. Sumi and her clone stopped and she canceled the seal, causing the clone to collapse into a puddle of water.

"All right. Before we do anything, I want you each to take a piece of paper. This will allow me to see what your primary Chakra nature is." Aoba already had a clue what each member of his teams nature was, but did this anyway, as it was compulsory.

With everyone taking a piece of paper, Aoba told Tamae to start.

Holding the piece in her hand, the paper split in two, causing Tamae to jump in shock. Aoba nodded.

"Seems you've got Wind Style nature. Pretty rare here in the Leaf." A smirk appeared on Tamae's lips, as she sent her smug expression at Sumi. Sumi simply ignored her, and waited for their sensei to go on.

"All right. Sozen, you next." Sozen grinned as he held the paper.

"I already know I'm Earth." He stated as the paper crumbled into little pieces of dirt.

"Hisato, you next." Hisato silently held his piece of paper, allowing it to crinkle together.

"Lightining. Interesting. Sumiko, your next." Sumi nodded and held her piece of paper in her hand.

"My main nature is Water." She stated, as the paper dampened.

"It seems you all have different chakra natures. All right, I want each of you to perform a jutsu of your nature, if you know one."

"I don't know any Earth Style jutsu as of yet. I've only learned my clan jutsu's." Sozen spoke up, shrugging as Nanumaru barked in agreement.

"All right. Any one else?" Tamae looked away as she muttered.

"I don't know any either..." Aoba heard and gave a nod, before looking at Sumi and Hisato.

"Either of you two?"

"I can perform a few Lightning style jutsu."

"I know a couple of Water style ones."

"Hisato, perform one of your Lighting style jutsu's." The Root member nodded before forming the needed hand signs.

"Lighting Release: Lighting Bolt Release." A small stream of lighting hit the ground near the group.

"I chose to perform it weaker, however I can perform it with much more power." Aoba nodded.

"That's all right at the moment. Sumiko?" Sumi gave a nod and performed the needed sign before shouting,

"Water Clone Technique!" Another version of her appeared, only made out of water. This is how she sparred against herself. Aoba nodded and allowed Sumi to cancel the jutsu again.

He then turned to Sozen and Tamae.

"Perform a jutsu you both know." Sozen grinned, while Nanumaru jumped onto the group.

"All right. Ready Nanumaru?" The small brown pup barked.

"Great! Fang Over Fang!" Nanumaru transformed into Sozen, before the two began to spin around each other, before stopping a little further away. A small layer of smoke had risen, as well as the ground being torn up slightly.

"Good. Tamae?" Tamae gulped, suddenly seeming afraid to go ahead.

"Uh, I can only perform genjutsu..." She muttered. Aoba nodded. Go ahead. Use one on me. Tamae looked unsure, but nodded.

"Illusion Technique: Flower Hill!" Aoba looked around the grasslands, noticing large purple flowers began to rise and twist around him.

Canceling the genjutsu, he nodded.

"Well, it seems I've got a lot of work ahead of me." Tamae growled.

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"It means we all need improvement." Sumi replied, watching as Tamae glared at her.

"Sumiko's right. You all have your talents, but some of you need a little more help than others." Tamae continued glaring and looked away. _'Whatever I do, I'm never good enough!'_

"From the look of it, I'd say Hisato and Sumi are the most powerful, when it comes to their natures, whereas Sozen and Tamae will need help." Sozen sighed while Tamae continued to glare at the ground.

"Now, I'm not the best when it comes to either Earth and Wind style natures, nor am I good when it comes to Genjutsu. However, I do know some basics, so we'll begin there. However, I think we should all have a break for now. We'll get something to eat, and then come back. Okay?" Everyone nodded.

"Good. Now, let's go."

* * *

Team 16 decided to go to the Yakiniku Q restaurant, which mainly sold different kinds of meat, with it's Salted Beef Tongue with Welsh Onions being it's most popular dish. Sumi had been to the Yakiniku Q restaurant a couple of times in the past, though not much.

After ordering what they wanted, Sozen turned to Sumi and began talking.

"I'm pretty impressed you can perform a Water clone this early on. Though it's no surprise, you do train with _Uchiha_ often." Tamae sent a glare at Sozen and Sumi when Sasuke was brought up, while Sumi rolled her eyes.

"Our clans have been close for many years, so it makes sense for us to train together." Aoba decided to speak before an argument broke out.

"Talking about training, I think it would be a good idea to have both Sumi and Hisato help you two in learning some basic nature jutsu." Tamae scowled at the idea of possibly having to train with Sumi, while Sozen gave a nod.

"I will be happy to help these two improve." Hisato replied, giving both Tamae and Sozen a fake smile. Sumi 'hm'd'.

"I'll help to I guess." She stated. Aoba nodded and released a mental sigh.

 _'They're going to need a lot of work in team work.'_

"All right. After we've eaten we'll start the training." The four Genins nodded and began eating their meals.

* * *

Arriving back at the training field, Aoba split the group of four in pairs.

"Tamae, you go with Sumiko. Sozen, you with Hisato." Tamae released an annoyed groan, and glared at Sumi.

"Sensei? Why do I have to be paired with _her?_ " Aoba sighed.

"Tamae, I'm pairing you with Sumi to try and get rid of this petty hatred you've got going on. Your all on the same team, and so, you all need to get on together now. Okay?" Tamae scowled but nodded as she headed over to Sumi.

"You've got a choice of three jutsu's to try and learn. Two are more offensive, while the other ones more defensive. I'd recommend the defensive one, especially since you seem to excel in Genjutsu." Tamae looked up at Aoba-sensei, who had placed himself next to the two female shinobi.

"They're E rank jutsu, so they won't be very powerful, however as a beginning jutsu, they will help." Tamae nodded.

"I'll be teaching you the defensive one. It's called 'Gale Surge'. Sumiko's clone here will be the target." Aoba turned to Sumi, who nodded and performed the Tiger hand seal and created a water clone. The clone jumped a few feet away from them, and faced Tamae.

"Now Tamae, I want you to focus your chakra around you and imagine a small sphere of wind surrounding you. Can you do that?" Tamae gave a small nod.

"Good, go ahead." Tamae closed her eyes and began to focus her chakra, trying to imagine it circling around her.

Aoba noticed how the wind around them began to move slightly faster. It wasn't visible, but it was beginning to move faster. Anyone of chunin level or higher would notice that.

"Okay good, now try and push that barrier at Sumiko's clone." Tamae listened to her sensei and aimed the wind barrier at he clone. The current moved but the clone didn't budge.

Tamae sighed.

"That's all right Tamae. I didn't expect you to move the clone first go. However, I'm impressed at how quickly you've performed the jutsu. You seem to have good chakra control for someone who hasn't used their chakra nature before." A small smile crossed Tamae's lips. Aoba turned to Sumi.

"Sumi, keep helping Tamae. I'm going to check on Hisato and Sozen."

"Yes Aoba-sensei." Sumi turned to Tamae and removed a kunai before heading over.

"What are you doing?!"

"I'm marking how far your wind barrier went. This way we'll know how much you've improved." Tamae's eyes widened before she nodded, watching as Sumi drew a deep line in the grass, about five cm's from Tamae.

"Okay. Go again." Tamae nodded and began focusing her chakra, before pushing the wind barrier towards Sumi's clone. Again, the clone didn't move and the attack died down. Marking the ground, Sumi noticed it didn't move much.

"Keep trying." Tamae gave another nod, a look of determination crossing her face. She wouldn't fail in learning this jutsu!

* * *

"Seeing as you are more of a Taijutsu user, I think learning 'Earth Release: Stone Bracers' is a good idea. This jutsu should be quite easy to learn." Sozen gave a nod.

"All right. To perform this jutsu, you need to perform these hand seals." Aoba performed three hand signs, Snake, Ox and Tiger.

"Once you've performed those hand seals, rub dirt over your arms or legs. This will allow physical hits to be softened when you're fighting." Sozen nodded and repeated the hand seals Aoba just did, before rubbing dirt over his arms.

"Good. Now, Hisato. Attack Sozen with basic taijutsu." Hisato nodded and ran at Sozen, who brought his arms up to block the attack. His skin hardened and blocked the attack.

"Good! I want the two of you to keep working on that jutsu for a little bit. We need to know how long you can hold the jutsu Sozen." Sozen gave another nod, a grin on his lips.

"All right sensei."

* * *

Meanwhile, back with Sumi and Tamae, Sumi took notice to how Tamae wasn't progressing much. Sumi removed a single shuriken and held it in her hand, waiting for the right time.

"Tamae, think fast." Tamae glanced at Sumi and released a slight cry as the shuriken was thrown at her. Not having the time to dodge, she closed her eyes, only to open them seconds later, as she felt a large wind presence push away from her. The shurkien shot back at Sumi, who jumped out of the way, missing the attack.

"What the hell was that for Sumiko?!" Tamae sent Sumi a glare. Aoba quickly headed over.

"You weren't improving, so I thought I'd put you in a dangerous situation and see how you reacted. Yo reacted as I believed you would." Aoba sighed.

"Even though it worked Sumiko, that was still risky." Sumi glanced at her sensei and nodded.

Aoba released a sigh.

"All right. I think that's enough training for today. We'll meet here tomorrow, and continue training. You can all go." Tamae made her way back to Konoha, with Hisato and Sozen heading off after.

"You coming Sumi?" Sumi gave a nod and headed over to Sozen who gave her a grin.


	7. Chapter Three: This isn't a mission!

**Chapter Three:**

Back in Konoha, Sumi walked alongside Sozen. Tamae and Hisato had left once they had been dismissed.

"So what do you plan to do now?" Sumi glanced at her team mate.

"I was thinking about heading to the library." Sozen gave a nod.

"Would it be okay if I came to?" Sumi rose an eyebrow but gave a nod.

"Suit yourself, though I wouldn't take you as someone who would read." Sozen chuckled, while Nanumaru gave a bark.

"I'm not much of a reader, but I may be able to find some books on Earth release jutsu's." Sumi 'hm'd' and gave another nod.

"They do have books on chakra nature, including jutsu's for specific natures." She replied, as the two entered the library. Sozen gave another nod, while Nanumaru barked and jumped on Sumi's head. The lilac blue haired girl chuckled and smiled up at the small brown dog.

"Why hello to you too, Nanumaru." She mused, picking the dog out of her hair and instead holding the small pup to her chest. She then turned to Sozen, who was watching her a small smile on is lips.

"The books you'll be wanting to read are down this aisle." She stated, pointing to an aisle on the right.

"I'll be in he seating area." She stated, before handing him Nanumaru and heading off to the left side of the library.

Browsing the shelves upon shelves of books, Sumi stopped once she saw one that interested her. It was a book on Taijutsu. She had been using the book, as well as some others, to help her improve her Taijutsu.

Heading over to the reading area, she sat herself on a plain, white settee, which had pale green cushions placed on it. There were two more settees, the same as the one Sumi was on. A long, dark green rug sat in the middle of the three settees, a medium sized table in the middle of it. The table had a piece of glass in the middle, with a dark wood outlining it.

"I take it you found the book you wanted?" Sumi mused, taking the time to glance at Sozen. He grinned and nodded, plopping himself down next to Sumi. Nanumaru jumped off his head, and curled up between the two Genins.

"Yeah, I did. Your reading a book on Taijutau huh?" She gave a nod, as she scanned the page before memorizing any important information.

"I mainly use Taijusu, as well as Ninjutsu." Sozen nodded, grinning.

"Seems we're pretty similar in fighting style then." Sumi chuckled and nodded.

"Guess so."

* * *

A couple of hours passed, with both Sumi and Sozen reading. Sumi had learned a lot from the pages she read, as did Sozen, who had written down some of the information on some paper, to help him remember.

"So this is where you've been." Sumi glanced up as the familiar raven haired male headed over to them. Sasuke was ignoring Sozen, who was glaring at him.

"I wanted to teach myself more about Taijutsu." She mused, watching as the Uchiha gave a nod.

"Come on, it's time to go." Sumi nodded and closed the book, before standing up and stretching.

"I'll see you tomorrow at training Sozen." Sozen turned his gaze from Sasuke to Sumi.

"I don't know why you bother hanging out with him." Sumi sighed, before glancing back at Sasuke. He was leaning against one of the book shelves, a bored look on his face.

"We've been friends since childhood." She replied, before heading over to the Uchiha.

As Sasuke and Sumi left the library, Sasuke turned to Sumi.

"Your team mate is annoying." Sumi chuckled and shook her head.

"Sozen's pretty okay. He just really doesn't like you." Sasuke scoffed, but a small smirk crossed his lips.

"Anyway, how was training for you?" Sasuke 'hn'd'.

"Kakashi made us do some stupid team work task. We had to get two bells of him, or we'd be sent back to the Academy." Sumi's eyes widened.

"That's pretty harsh." Sasuke nodded.

"Naruto and Sakura were useless. We passed however." Sumi nodded.

"Well, that's good then." Sasuke gave a nod, before asking Sumi how her training went.

"Well, I mainly had to help Tamae learn a Wind nature jutsu. Both she and Sozen can't do a nature move. Me and Hisato had to help out." Sasuke gave a nod.

"They sound as useless as Naruto and Sakura are." Sumi chuckled.

"I'm sure you're team mates aren't that bad. Anyway, why don't you request a training session with my team, or see if we can get our sensei's to do a cross team training session one day?" Sasuke seemed to be in thought until he nodded.

"Good idea. I'll request it tomorrow. You do the same." Sumi gave a smile and nodded.

"I'll see what I can do."

* * *

At training the next day, both Sumi and Sasuke brought up the idea to their sensei's. Both Aoba and Kakashi said they'd talk to the other about it, and if they agreed, they'd set it at a later date. As of current, Sumi was helping Tamae with perfecting her 'Gale Surge' technique, whereas Hisato was sparring against Sozen. Aoba had been called to the Hokage's office, so he had headed over there. After a few minutes he returned.

"All right, you four. Hokage-sama has given us our first mission as a team." Tamae felt a surge of excitement, as did Sozen. Sumi knew the mission would be a low rank one, and so didn't feel overly excited. Hisato didn't show himself to be excited, wearing his usual emotionless mask.

"The mission isn't a hard one, we simply have to help an elderly couple with their garden." Sozen groaned while Tamae scowled.

"What kind of a mission is that?!" Aoba sighed.

"It's the kind of mission given to Genin's who are straight from the Academy. They help improve your team work." Tamae crossed her arms and looked away, while Sozen sighed.

"Gotta start somewhere I guess." Aoba nodded and lead the four to the elderly couple who they'd be helping.

Sumi set herself further up, silently removing weeds and watering any plants which seemed dry. Beside her was Tamae, who was muttering under her breath about how 'stupid' this mission was.

"If you dislike this mission, then you'll hate the other D-rank ones." Sumi stated, causing Tamae to glare at her before storming off. Sumi simply rolled her eyes before getting back to work.

Saying good bye to the elderly couple they helped, Team 16 headed towards the Hokage Tower, where they were going to give in their mission report. Sumi was walking beside Hisato, who hadn't said a word since the day began. Sozen was next to Tamae, the two muttering about the 'mission' they had just completed.

Heading into the Hokage Tower, Team 16 quickly made it to the Hokages office. Entering, Sumi took the time to scan the room, and take notice of the amount of scrolls and other materials dotted around the room.

"Ah, Aoba. I take it your team have finished their mission?" Aoba gave a nod.

"We have, Hokage-sama."

"Good. There's a few more I've got set up for your team to do, within the week." Aoba gave a nod, before glancing at his team. Tamae was still muttering to herself, while Sozen was now gazing out the window. Hisato was looking ahead, and Sumi was taking in the room.

"Well, you're all dismissed. I hope you will be successful in your upcoming missions." Tamae's head shot up, however before she had a chance to speak, Aoba spoke up.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama. I hope so too." With that said, the team left the room. Once they were on their way down and out the Hokage Tower, Tamae began to express her feelings.

"How can we not be successful in these missions?! They're not even missions!" Sozen hummed and nodded his head.

"I've gotta agree with Tamae on this one." Aoba sighed and turned to Hisato and Sumi.

"What about you, Hisato? Sumiko?"

"I believe we all have to start with lesser, easier, missions." Hisato replied.

"I agree with Hisato. It's no good going into difficult missions, when we have no experience ourselves." Aoba gave a nod.

"Well said, Sumiko. We will be continuing with these 'easier' missions, as you put it, until I believe you're ready to upgrade to slightly more difficult missions. Okay?" Sozen sighed but nodded. Tamae glared at the ground, but muttered a 'fine'.

"Good. Now, I want us all to meet here tomorrow, so we can start our second mission as a team." Everyone nodded in understanding, before being dismissed.


	8. Chapter Four: Combined training

**Chapter Four:**

During the next few days, Team 16 continued to do D-rank missions. Tamae and Sozen had learned to live with it, and were still annoyed but figured the more they did, the quicker they could go up a rank. Sumi didn't really mind helping out people with these lower ranked missions, and went along with them silently. Hisato seemed all right too, and didn't complain.

Aoba was relieved his team seemed to have accepted that they had to do these missions. He had spoken to Kakashi earlier that day about doing a merged training exercise. They had both agreed it would be a good idea, especially as there would be times when ninja teams would be split or mixed with other ninja teams.

"Okay, Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura today we're going to be doing something a little different."

"Oh! Oh! Oh! Are we finally going on a harder mission Kakashi-sensei!" Sumi recognised the voice of Naruto shout that out, before hearing him cry out. _'That's probably Sakura's doing.'_

"Uh, no, we're not Naruto. Today we will be training with Team 16." Aoba lead his team over to Team 7. Sasuke smirked slightly, while Sakura frowned when she saw Sumi and Tamae. Naruto tilted his head, seemingly confused. Sozen glared at Sasuke, while Tamae glared at Sakura. Hisato simply gave everyone a fake smile. Sumi gazed around the area, giving Sasuke a smile.

"Why are _they_ here, Kakashi-sensei?" Kakshi turned to Sakura, and resisted the urge to sigh.

"Sasuke and Sumiko requested a training merge." Sakura's eyes widened, and she looked at Sasuke.

"Is this true, Sasuke-kun?"

"Hn." Naruto looked between the two and grinned slightly.

"All right!"

"Why would you request that?!" Tamae screeched. Sumi sighed and ignored her, as well as the glare she got from Sozen.

"I think this is a brilliant idea." Hisato stated, giving everyone more fake smiles.

"All right. Now, why don't you all get in pairs. Preferably with someone from the opposite team." Sakura slouched, while Tamae grinned.

"Want to be partnered with me, Sasuke-kun."

"Hn. You're annoying. Go be partners with one of those losers." Sakura's eyes widened, while Naruto glared.

"Who're you calling a loser?!"

"You." Kakashi and Aoba sighed, as they watched Naruto get more worked up and Sasuke ignore him as he headed over to Sumi.

"You shouldn't rile him up."

"He gets annoyed over anything." Sasuke replied. Sumi resisted the urge to sigh, instead taking the time to watch who went with who.

Tamae went with Sakura, and both seemed to be plotting against Sumi. Naruto and Sozen were together, leaving Hisato by himself.

"Hisato, why don't you go with Sumiko and Sasuke. You three are the best from our groups after all." Hisato gave a nod and headed over to Sumi and Sasuke.

"Hello. It is a pleasure to meet you, Sasuke."

"Hn." Hisato continued to smile, regardless to Sasuke's reply.

"All right. Sasuke, Sumiko, Hisato, I want the three of you to do some simple rotation sparring. Me and Aoba here are going to help train the other four." The three nodded before turning to each other.

"You two have the same chakra nature." Sumi stated, looking at both Sasuke and Hisato. Sasuke 'Hn'd' while Hisato nodded, a smile on his lips.

"That is quite interesting."

"Sumi, make a Water clone to fight alongside him." Sumi gave a nod, and performed the needed hand seal, creating a Water clone. The clone stood beside Hisato.

"I've fused half of my chakra with the clone. It knows all the jutsu's I do." Sumi stated, before jumping back alongside Sasuke. Hisato nodded and jumped back with the clone, before drawing his katana.

"Sumi, lets go with our combo, okay?" Sumi nodded, and ran forward, getting ready to deliver two punches. Hisato went to dodge, but was caught of by Sasuke, who shot a fireball at them. Sumi disappeared, only to reappear once she moved from the fireball, and sent two punches at Hisato, before using her palms to shoot him up in the air.

"Fire Style: Fireball jutsu!" Sasuke sent another fireball at Hisato, causing the male to force himself to flip back in the air. Sumi grinned as she threw a large shuriken at Hisato, which had wire connected to it. Hisato couldn't dodge, due to the fireball, and got caught in the wire. Sumi threw her leg down on Hisato's stomach, making him crash into the ground.

"Air Lighting Bullet!"

Landing beside Sasuke, Sumi released a breath before looking over at Hisato, who turned into a log.

"Hn, substitution." Sumi sighed, before glancing at Sasuke.

"Take care of the clone. I'll find Hisato." Nodding, Sumi jumped over to her clone and begn engaging in hand to hand combat once again.

* * *

"All right, that's enough Naruto, Sozen." Both boys collapsed to the floor, panting. They had just been doing a Taijutsu based fight. Aoba looked over to see how Kakashi was doing. He was trying to teach Sakura and Tamae basic Taijutsu too, so they would be able to defend themselves.

"Must be pretty bad having _Uchiha_ on your team." Naruto looked over at Sozen and scowled.

"He thinks he knows everything! He wouldn't last one second against me!" Aoba sweat dropped.

 _'They really need to get over this hatred for each other.'_

* * *

"Why do we have to be here? I want to be with Sasuke-kun."

"Hand's off, he's mine!"

"No way, Billboard brow."

"What did you just call me, you stuck up cow?!"

"Who are you calling a cow?!"

Kakashi sighed. This really wasn't going well.

* * *

"Fireball jutsu!" Hisato jumped out of the way, running at Sasuke, his katana sparking.

 _'He must of done it when he made the substitution.'_

Sasuke jumped back, before sending another Fireball at Hisato. Sumi's clone jumped in to take the attack, followed by Sumi who kicked the clone, causing it to disappear in a puddle of water. Jumping back to Sasuke, Sasuke nodded at Sumi, who ran forward, aiming to grab Hisato's arm, and throw him up in the air. Hisato slashed his sword at Sumi, the electric current sparking off, and causing Sumi to jump out of the way before she got hit. Sumi scanned the area, and smirked as she continued to dodge the attacks sent by Hisato. Finally, she let him look like he hit her, only to turn into a log, and disappear.

Sumi panted as she hid in the trees, before forming the Tiger seal. A weaker water clone appeared. Sumi gave the clone a nod. Jumping out in the open again, the clone ran at Hisato. Hisato ran towards the clone, and went to strike. Sumi took this chance, to jump in the air, and spin forward, so she was behind Hisato, before delivering a powerful kick to is back, just as he destroyed the water clone, a barrier of smoke appearing.

Hisato released a groan as he was forced into the ground. Panting, Sumi jumped back and landed beside Sasuke, in a crouched position.

"You over pushed yourself." Sumi sent Sasuke a small grin.

"I wasn't going to appear weak." She muttered. Sasuke sighed, before helping her stand.

"All right you three, that's enough for now. Take a break." Sasuke lead Sumi to a tree and helped her sit down, before plopping himself beside her.

"Your team mates are glaring over here again."

"So are yours."

"Hn. Annoying." Sumi rolled her eyes, as she lay back against the tree.

* * *

The rest of the training with Team 7 passed pretty quickly. Sumi helped teach Sakura and Tamae in basic Taijutsu, alongside Kakashi, while Sasuke and Hisato assisted Aoba in fighting against Naruto and Sozen.

The two teams were currently heading to Ichiraku Ramen, to have something to eat. As they entered the small restaurant. Teuchi greeted them as they headed over to the seats. Aoba and Kakashi stayed standing, mainly due to their not being enough stools. Ordering what they wanted, Sumi turned to Sasuke. The seating had gone as followed: Naruto, Sozen, Sasuke, Sumi, Sakura, Tamae. Both Sumi and Sasuke could feel the glares been sent to them.

"I still feel exhausted." Sumi muttered, leaning against the counter.

"You shouldn't of over pushed yourself." Sumi rolled her eyes.

"Stop being mean Sasuke." She muttered, nudging him. Sasuke sent her a soft glare, before sighing in annoyance.

"Stop being a kid." Sumi rolled her eyes again.

"Anyway, it's nice that we actually got this merged training day, don't you think."

"Hn."

"I'll take that as a yes." Sumi glanced over at Amaye, thanking her as she handed her and Sasuke their food. After saying 'Itadakimasu', the group began to eat.

Sumi's eyes widened at how much Naruto and Sozen ate. They seemed to be competing against each other, unlike Sakura and Tamae, who were taking it slowly. Sasuke was also eating slowly, though Sumi was eating a little quicker, mainly due to being exhausted, and wanting to gain some strength back.

After eating, and their sensei's paying, both teams split, heading to their homes to get some rest after the tiring day.


	9. Chapter Five: Our first mission!

**Chapter Five:**

"I still don't believe Sasuke's already gotten himself a C rank mission." Sumi muttered to herself, remembering the conversation with Sasuke earlier this morning.

 _' "I'm not going to be in the village for some time." Sumi looked at her friend with confusion._

" _Why? You been given a mission outside of the village?" A small smirk crossed the Uchiha's lips as he nodded._

 _Sumi's eyes widened as she frowned._

" _That's not fair!" She muttered before sighing._

" _Well, best of luck with it." She muttered, shooting her friend a jealous look. Sasuke rolled his eyes but gave a nod anyway. '_

Her hand messed with the pendant around her neck, a habit she did when she was lost in thought, or concerned about something. _'I hope he'll be all right...'_ Sumi mentally shook her thoughts away. _'Of course he'll be all right.'_

Team 16 had been doing D rank missions for about two weeks now. Everyone wanted to get a higher ranked mission, so much so that Aoba-sensei was leading the group to talk to the Hokage about it.

"All right. Now, I don't want any of you to cause an issue if the Hokage refuses to give us a higher ranked mission. Okay?" Everyone nodded. Tamae and Sozen were pretty excited, causing them not to shout out. Hisato had a smile on his lips, albeit another fake one. Sumi was also pretty excited, but didn't show it. She wanted to get a C rank mission, so she could tell Sasuke when he got back.

Aoba nodded and knocked on the Hokage's office door, before heading in with his team behind him.

"Ah Aoba. I take it your team's here for another mission?" Aoba nodded.

"We are, though they would like to request for a slightly more difficult mission." The Hokage's eyes widened as he hummed and took a puff from his pipe.

"Is that so? Kakashi and his team came in here early this morning and requested a higher ranked mission too." Hiruzen glanced at Sumi as he said that.

"They did?!" Glancing at Tamae, he nodded.

"Naruto Uzumaki requested it. I gave them a C rank one."

"Hey Sumi, did you know about this?" Sumi glanced at Sozen and nodded.

"Sasuke told me this morning before he left." She replied.

"There is one mission your team can do. It's a C rank mission, and shouldn't be too difficult."

"Well, what is it?!" Sumi resisted the urge to punch Tamae. Hiruzen chuckled at her excitement. He knew Tamae wanted to impress her family, so being given a slightly higher ranked mission would be a start.

"There's been a pack of wolves terrorizing travellers and merchants. They've been attacking them, and stealing their food. Your mission is to hunt down these animals, and stop them from attacking the travellers and merchants."

A small smile crossed Sumi's lips, as she reached for her necklace. _'We finally get a harder mission huh?'_ After everyone agreed, Aoba led his team to the exit of the village.

"All right. This is our first mission leaving the village, and so will be more difficult than our previous ones. I want all of you to be on alert." Everyone nodded.

"Good, let's go."

* * *

Deciding to take a break, Aoba led the group over to a long stream.

"We're nearing where the wolves have been seen. After having a break here, we'll head over." Sumi took the time to looks around the grassland.

She had never been out of the village, so it was nice to finally see what the outside world looked like. Sumi had heard Itachi talk about the places he had been to, when he had gone on missions. She had always asked him about what missions he'd been on, alongside Sasuke. The two would sit and listen to what he had to say for hours. A sad smile crept over Sumi's lips, as she held her necklace close to her.

"Hey, you okay? You look sad." Sumi looked up at Sozen, and gave a small smile.

"I was just lost in thought for a minute." She gave a slightly bigger smile, before dropping her necklace back against her chest.

"You always wear that. Is it some kind of family heirloom?" Sumi chuckled and shook her head.

"Not really, though you could say it is." Glancing down at the pendant, Sumi picked it up, and showed Sozen the sigils carved on it. On one side, there as the Konoha icon, and on the other side, the Uchiha crest.

"Our clans been around since the warring era, where we fought along with the Uchiha clan. When Konoha was created, these necklaces were made and given to our clan members. Since then, Hagoromo members have been close to the Uchiha, and have come to help them when in need. These necklaces show that we are still with the Uchiha, even if they're nearly gone." Sozen looked at the pendant and gave a nod.

"So your clan wears this to remember the days when the village wasn't built."

"Yes, and no. These necklaces are just important to us, and we wear them to honour our ancestors." Sozen gave another nod.

"Well, that's pretty cool then." Sumi gave a small smile and nodded.

"It is."

* * *

After the break, Team 16 continued on their way, nearing where the wolves had been spotted.

"There."

A group of about six wolves were snarling at a couple of merchants, who had climbed onto their cart.

"Okay. Sozen and Sumi, I want you two to go out and try and get the wolves attention. Hisato, stay with Tamae. Once you've got their attention, I'll help the merchants get to safety." Sumi and Sozen gave a nod, as Nanumaru jumped of and turned into Sozen. Sumi made the needed hand seal to create a water clone.

"Go." Sozen and Sumi jumped out, followed by Nanumaru and Sumi's clone.

"Hey, you dogs! Get over here!" Two of the wolves growled and turned to Sozen and Nanumaru, while one turned and growled at Sumi and her clone.

"Huh, seems we're going to need to try harder, don't you say, Nanumaru." Nanumaru nodded.

"All right. Earth Release: Stone Bracers!" Performing the hand signs, Sozen quickly rubbed dirt over his arms, before nodding at Nanumaru and shouting,

"Fang over fang!" Both him and Nanumaru began to spin, before charging at the two wolves. Barring their teeth, they snarled and went to bite, only to be pushed back by the attack. Whimpers escaped their muzzles, before they ran of.

 _'Two down, four to go.'_

The one growling at Sumi pounced, making Sumi jump back. Nodding at her clone, Sumi made the needed hand signs, before forming a couple of hand signs.

"Water Release: Water Trick!" After focusing chakra in her hand, a small amount of water, about the size of a grape appeared in her hand. Forming the water into a line, Sumi focused the water and shot it at the wolves legs, making it wrap around it's legs and caused it to fall.

Without giving it the chance to get up, Sumi and her clone charged at he wolf and kicked it up into the air, before side kicking it towards a tree, where it let out a whimper and slouched, being knocked unconscious. Sumi's clone disappeared into water after using the move.

 _'Three left.'_

The remaining three wolves turned towards Sumi and growled. Sozen noticed and jumped over, getting ready to help, only to be pounced on by one of the bigger wolves. Using his hardened arm, Sozen tried to push the wolf off him, only failed to do so.

"Hisato, go help Sozen. I'll keep an eye on Tamae." Hisato nodded and jumped over to Sozen. Sumi noticed how Aoba began to help the merchants get to safety.

"Watch out!" Sumi glanced back at the wolves, and jumped back just in time, before one had the chance to snap at her face.

"Tamae, jump on that branch, and keep an eye on these wolves. Okay?" Tamae scowled at Sumi but nodded and jumped back. Dodging another snapping wolf, Sumi charged forward and kicked the smaller wolf up into the air, before punching it to the ground, and towards the other wolf, which was slightly bigger and had grey markings.

Panting slightly, Sumi ran towards the wolves, punching both into the air, before palming them higher up. She then jumped higher up, and punched them back down. Removing a shuriken, she threw it at the wolves and watched as the wire wrapped around them. She then slammed her foot into the wolves guts, and watched as they crashed into the ground. Landing not far from them, Sumi steadied herself, in case the wolves came running out.

While watching the smoke clear, Sumi was unaware of the two wolves who had come back with another three and were about to charge at her.

Tamae noticed and tried to get her attention, but was too late. Jumping down, she began to spin the chakra around her, and made the propelled the wolves away, before they got to Sumi. Sumi looked back at Tamae with wide eyes.

"Thanks." Tamae gave her a small smirk.

"I couldn't let you get eaten by wolves. We _are_ a team." Sumi gave her a small smile. Glancing back at Sozen and Hisato, Sumi saw the two push the wolf back. The larger wolf cowered and ran back into the forest, alongside the other wolves. The two then headed over to the kunoichi.

"You guys okay?" Sumi gave a nod.

"Gotta say, seems you got that jutsu mastered, eh Tamae?" Tamae grinned.

"Seems I have!" Sumi gave Tamae a smile, as did Hisato. Aoba-sensei headed over to the four of them.

"Good going, you four. You all did really well." Tamae and Sozen grinned while Sumi and Hisato nodded.

"Thank you, young ninjas for helping us. Those wolves have been quite the annoyance. However, you may have just scared them away."

"It was no problem. We're just glad to of helped." Sozen replied.

"Well, we better be heading back. Will you two be okay?" The merchants nodded and thanked the group again before continuing down the path, Team 16 going the opposite direction.

* * *

Arriving back at the leaf, Team 16 headed over to the Hokage's Tower, to give their mission report.

"I take it all went well in this mission?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama. The wolves have been scared away. It's unlikely they'll attack travellers or merchants for quite some time." Hiruzen nodded.

"That is good then. This mission has been a success then. Congrats, Team 16 in completing your first C rank mission." Sozen and Tamae jumped up in excitement, while Sumi grinned to herself and Hisato smiled.

"I recommend you all rest for the remaining of the day." Team 16 nodded and left.


	10. Chapter Six: Are we ready?

**Chapter Six:**

Sumi sat with her team in the Yakiniku Q restaurant. It had been a week since they did their first C rank mission. After that mission, the Hokage gave them mainly D rank missions again. Sumi was expecting Sasuke's team to be returning soon. She had asked the Hokage a few days back how long he thought they'd be. He had told her Team 7 had gone to the Land of Waves, and it could take between a few days to just over a week, depending on if everything went well.

"I've become very impressed with each of you. Your teamwork has improved vastly since when you first started." Sumi glanced over in the direction of her sensei, Aoba. Both Sozen and Tamae seemed happy with what their sensei said, while Hisato, once again, gave a fake smile.

"Especially you Sozen and Tamae. You have both began to grasp your chakra nature quite well." Sozen grinned, with Nanumaru barking, while Tamae cheered.

"And you two, Sumiko and Hisato. You've both improved in your fighting styles too, as well as your team work." Sumi gave a small smile and a nod, while Hisato remained the same.

"I thought this would be a good chance to bring up the Chunin exams." A look of confusion spread on Tamae's and Sozen's faces. Sumi's eyes widened slightly. She had heard about the Chunin exams, mainly from Itachi, who she had questioned about them, as well as hat she could get via reading. She assumed Hisato knew of them, as he didn't seem very shocked.

"What are the Chunin exams?" Aoba sighed and looked at Sozen.

"Does anyone want to answer Sozen's question?" Sumi decided to reply.

"The Chunin exams are exams where Genins from different villages meet at one village and compete in a set of 'tests' to see whether they're ready to become Chunin's. If they past the first few 'tests', they are put up to the finals, where they will fight for their village against other ninja, while being watched by ninja and civilians from across the lands."

"Well put Sumiko. Like Sumiko said, the Chunin exams are just exams to see whether you're ready to be promoted to Chunin or not. I want to see whether you feel you're ready for the exams." Sumi glanced around her team. She could see herself and Hisato being able to scrape through, however she was concerned for Tamae and Sozen. Itachi had told her how hard these exams were, and how they would change too.

"Uh, sensei?" Aoba looked over at Tamae.

"How hard exactly are these exams?"

"Well, they change yearly. I'm not supposed to tell you much, however, they mainly focus on teamwork. The finals are single fights. Normally about four, sometimes more, or less, will get through to the finals." Tamae gave a nod, before looking down. Aoba took this time to look at his other three students.

"How do you three feel about this?" Sozen looked down.

"I really want to do these exams, but I'm not sure if I can..." Tamae muttered.

"If what Aoba-sensei said is right, and the exam is mainly based on team work, then as long as we work together and train hard from now out, we should be okay." Aoba gave a nod to what Sumi said.

"From what I've read, Aoba-sensei is correct. They like to give us team work tests. As long as we work as a team, we should be fine. Besides, if we don't pass, it gives us some experience for the next one. We can then train upon our weaknesses." Sumi stated. Tamae looked up, as did Sozen.

"I agree with Sumiko. We should attempt to do this years Chunin exam, and see how far we get."

"Yeah, we should! I'm sure other Rookie teams will be doing this."

"Well, let's do it then!" Sumi smiled at Tamae. If Tamae could get over her dislike for Sumi, she could see them possibly getting on.

"Good. I take it you all want to do this then?" All four nodded.

"Well, the exams aren't for another week, so we'll start training right away. I think it may be good for you all to learn a new jutsu to help out with these exams." Sumi looked at her sensei with mild surprise. She expected him to help Tamae the most, but this excited her slightly. A new jutsu!

"Wow, really?!" Both Sozen and Tamae seemed quite excited. Aoba nodded.

"If you're planning on participating in the Chunin exams then it would make sense to teach you guys new jutsu's. However, they won't be overly powerful, like C rank or higher, due to the time. They will most likely be extensions of an already existing jutsu you know, or a D rank one." The four Genins nodded in understanding.

"Good. Now, we'll start training tomorrow."

Later that day, Sumi found out Sasuke had returned and visited him and his team. She assumed they'd be at Ichiraku's, so she went there first.

As she neared the Ramen restaurant, she heard Naruto shouting at Sasuke before being hit by Sakura.

Sasuke seemed the first to notice her as she walked in.

"Sumi." Sumi smiled at Sasuke as she headed over to him.

"Glad to see you back, Sasuke. How was your mission?" Sumi looked at the rest of Team 7 when she said that. Not giving Sasuke a chance to reply, Naruto shot up and began speaking.

"We had to fight against Zabuza and Haku, two missing nins!" Sumi glanced at Naruto.

"That doesn't sound like a C rank mission..."

"It wasn't." Sumi looked over at Kakashi.

"The mission itself was a B or A rank mission." Sumi's eyes widened, as she looked back at Sasuke. He had a smirk on his lips as he nodded.

"Seriously? Huh, that's impressive." Sasuke's smirk grew, while Naruto grinned and Sakura sent her a smirk of her own, as if to say, _and what have you done?_

"While you guys were in the Land of Waves, my team did a C rank one. Nothing of the standards of what you guys did, but we did fend of a pack of wolves which had been causing trouble. Plus, Aoba-sensei said he's going to teach us all new jutsu by the end of the week." Kakashi understood what she meant by 'end of the week'. _'So your teams competing in the Chunin exams then Aoba?'_

Naruto shouted at Kakashi why he hadn't taught them a jutsu yet. Kakashi sighed.

"We've only got back..." He muttered, while Sakura hit Naruto again. Sasuke turned his attention to Sumi.

"Seems we're both improving." Sumi gave a nod, though she then scowled at him.

"Still unfair you got to go on a high ranking mission." Sasuke gave her a cocky smirk.

"Seems I'm just more talented than you are." Sumi glared at him, albeit a friendly one.

"Just cause you're an Uchiha doesn't give you bragging rights." She replied, turning her head away, a small smile crossing her lips.

"Anyways, I don't want to keep you guys too long. I'll see you later Sasuke." Sumi smiled at the four before turning and heading off.


End file.
